1 developers-reference (3.2.3) unstable; urgency=low
4 - French translation update to latest version
5 - Proofread by Philippe Batailler
9 - Added "ddtp" keyword in the PTS documentation.
11 - split out the doc-files per language, closes: #177448.
12 - shuffled stuff around in the packages chapter
14 -- Adam Di Carlo <aph@debian.org> Sun, 19 Jan 2003 21:49:44 +0100
16 developers-reference (3.2.2) unstable; urgency=low
19 - slightly rewrote and updated links in the mirrors section
21 - Policy compliance checked and updated to 3.5.8, no changes needed
22 - TODO: remove some tasks which are done
23 - ship README-contrib and TODO in the doc dir
24 - Sec "Upstream home page": some revisions based on discussion on
26 - Sec "Documentation" added under Sec "Common packaging situations"
27 for best practices for documentation
28 - Add tools entries for autotools-dev, dpkg-repack, alien, debsums;
29 new Sec "Documentation and information", add entries there for
30 debview, debiandoc-sgml, debian-keyring; we believe this manual now
31 covers all of the established, general Debian maintainer tool
35 -- Adam Di Carlo <aph@debian.org> Thu, 12 Dec 2002 13:45:23 -0500
37 developers-reference (3.2.1) unstable; urgency=low
40 - Sec "Best practices for debian/control" added, Sec "Writing useful
41 descriptions" moved under there
42 - Sec "Upstream home page" added in debian/control section
43 - Sec "Miscellaneous advice" empty, removed
44 - Sec "Overview of maintainer tools": tools now categorized into
45 subgroups; do cross-linking from this section into other parts of
46 the document where these tools are discussed
47 - Sec "Overview of maintainer tools": add entries for sbuild,
48 build-essential, linda; improved entries for pbuilder, devscripts
49 - Sec "Tools for porters" renamed and readapted to "Porting
50 infrastructure and automation"; move tool discussion down to the
51 appendix; improve Sec "buildd" a bit
52 - README-contrib added giving information for authors, contributors,
54 - eliminate the ByHand stuff, I'm pretty sure it's not needed now
55 with the DDP builder process, or if it is needed, it's a probably
56 that can be fixed by DDP folks
57 - stop shipping SGML source -- use 'apt-get source developers-reference'
58 after all, this is supposed to be a binary package, right?
59 - simply PS and PDF building rules
61 -- Adam Di Carlo <aph@debian.org> Mon, 9 Dec 2002 03:04:19 -0500
63 developers-reference (3.2) unstable; urgency=low
66 - merged a bit misplaced lintian-reports section within the lintian
67 section and adjusted links
68 - added the missing description of dh-make and adjusted links
70 - ChangeLog attribution updates
71 - fix typos, closes: #171781
72 - expand the doc-base abstract and authors
73 - Ch "Packaging Practices" rewritten intro
74 - Sec "Packaging tools and common cases" renamed to "Best Practices
75 for debian/rules", and write an intro
76 - Sec "Helper scripts" in practices section rewritten, giving
77 arguments for and against debhelper, mostly for :)
78 - Sec "Package with multiple patches" renamed to "Patching source
79 versus patching at build time" and rewritten
80 - Sec "Multiple binary packages" rewritten
81 - Sec "Handling debconf translations" moved under an
82 "Internationalization" section, and some edits
83 - Sec "Internationalized Documentation" added under Sec
84 "Internationalization"
85 - Sec "Specific packaging practices" renamed to "Common packaging situations"
86 - Sec "Packages using autoconf/automake" rewritten
87 - Sec "Configuration management" moved forward in practices chapter
88 - Sec "Other specific packages" renamed to "Specific types of
89 packages", add info for SGML/XML and Lisp packages
90 - Sec "Writing useful descriptions" heavily edited
91 - Sec "Best practices for maintainer scripts" added, special credit
92 here to Charles Briscoe-Smith for work dating back to 1998; include
93 a POSIX shell snippet showing how to check if a command is the PATH,
95 - Apdx "Overview of Debian Maintainer Tools": remove debget, it's
96 rather useless and broken
97 - normalize up-casing on sections, which should only up-case proper
98 names and the first word
99 - new 'translation-status' script to check status of translations,
100 adapted from doc-check in boot-floppies, source pkg only --
101 oh my, French translation is 54 CVS revisions behind, and Japanese
103 - postinst: don't set /usr/doc symlink, aesthetics
104 - prerm: don't use 'command -v', it's not POSIX
105 - rules: produce md5sums file; break out a 'test' target
107 -- Adam Di Carlo <aph@debian.org> Sat, 7 Dec 2002 02:28:06 -0500
109 developers-reference (3.1.2) unstable; urgency=low
112 - DDP publishing update
114 - doc-base file includes French and Japanese files
115 - debsign invocation was slightly wrong, closes: #170523
116 - Sec "Handling debconf translations", updates from Martin Quinson
117 for po-debconf with minimal editorial changes, closes: #169007
119 -- Adam Di Carlo <aph@debian.org> Wed, 27 Nov 2002 21:16:30 -0500
121 developers-reference (3.1.1) unstable; urgency=low
124 - updated IRC stuff, thanks to Ben Armstrong, closes: #161403
125 - fixed/updated/extended stuff about bugs, hoping to address the
126 issue of people abusing the changelog bug closing feature
128 - added myself as co-author
129 - fix a typo in Sec "Collaborative maintenance", closes: #161488
131 - updated security information, merging in Joey's stuff from the
132 Security Team FAQ and various updates and clarifications
134 - fix some bad URLs, closes: #168357
135 - fix a grammar typo, closes: #166098
137 -- Adam Di Carlo <aph@debian.org> Tue, 12 Nov 2002 23:15:03 -0500
139 developers-reference (3.1) unstable; urgency=low
142 - Corrected several errors with —
143 - Applied patch from Peter Palfrader, correcting
144 the URL for the Debian Voting Information page. closes: #150427
145 - Applied patch from Matej Vela, dpkg-buildpackage does no more
146 require -sa for version -0.1. closes: #150861
147 - Applied the reformulations proposed by David Kimdon. closes: #150572
148 - Applied the patch of Matt Zimmerman. Thanks Matt! closes: #145287
149 - Added the explanation about how to replace an .orig.tar.gz.
151 - Mostly deleted the paragraph about security upload in the
152 section explaining source NMU. Just added a link to point to
153 "Handling security-related bugs". closes: #159935
154 - Added a link to the Technical Committee web page (in the "Bug
155 housekeeping" section). closes: #151365
156 - Explain uploads to testing-proposed-updates, mentions briefly
157 stable-security and testing-security. closes: #149666
158 Removed the comment about uploads to frozen.
159 - Documented the "Developer's packages overview" web portal.
161 - Added a reference to debian-l10n-english in "Writing useful
162 descriptions". closes: #158609
163 - Added a Best Packaging Practice section for "Packages using
164 autoconf/automake". closes: #158045
165 - Documented associated features to db.debian.org like SSH key
166 replication and *.debian.net DNS entry. closes: #155389
167 - Added a section about "Bug Squashing Parties".
169 - removed obsolete, needless dupload variables
170 - applied linguistic fixes from David Kimdon, closes: #150572
171 - random proofreading, mostly changing he -> they
172 - added people.d.o and non-us.d.o to the Debian servers section, and
173 mostly rewrote it to exclude real machine names and be better organized
174 - updated the mailing lists section
176 - debian/changelog: remove obsolete Emacs variables
177 - editorial review of the changes above, minor tagging changes,
180 -- Adam Di Carlo <aph@debian.org> Tue, 10 Sep 2002 21:57:41 -0400
182 developers-reference (3.0) unstable; urgency=low
185 - welcome Manoj Srivastava as a co-maintainer
186 - welcome Raphael Hertzog as a co-maintainer
188 - new Chapter "Resource for Debian Developers", incorporating
190 Ch "Mailing Lists, Servers, and Other Machines"
191 Ch "The Debian Archive"
193 - new Chapter "Managing Packages", incorporating former chapters
195 Ch "Non-Maintainer Uploads (NMUs)"
196 Ch "Porting and Being Ported"
197 Ch "Moving, Removing, Renaming, Adopting, and Orphaning Packages"
198 Ch "Handling Bugs" (retitled "Handling package bugs")
199 Sec "Bug housekeeping" (new section, some parts stubbed out)
201 - new Chapter "Beyond Packaging" recommends ways to contribute
202 to Debian beyond issues of package maintenance; incoporates
203 Ch "Interaction with Prospective Developers", retitled to
204 Sec "Interacting with Prospective Debian Developers"
205 Sec "Submitting Bugs", renamed to "Reporting Bugs"
206 Sec "QA" moved here from old Sec "Quality Assurance effort"
207 Sec "Dealing with unreachable maintainers"
209 - Sec "The Developers Database" added under Resources
210 - new Sec "Collaborative Maintenance" concerning multiple maintainers
213 - Sec "Getting started": add link to New Maintainers' Guide
214 - Sec "Debian Mentors" renamed to "Debian Mentors and Sponsors",
215 we add some info on sponsoring; also in Sec "Sponsoring packages"
216 - Section's first word capitalized, rest are normal case
217 - purge a reference to the Packaging Manual; closes: #145039
218 - misc. cross-referencing with new or moved sections
219 - change some literal quotes to ‘, ”, etc.
220 - tagging improvements: replace <tt> with <file> for files and
221 directories; since <tt><var> and <example><var> doesn't look right,
222 work-around with <...>
223 - entity'ize master.debian.org, us-upload-dir, non-us-upload-dir
224 - update copyright date
225 - some simplifications on the TeX suffix rule
226 - spell check and grammar corrections
230 - changed -e by -m in the dpkg-buildpackage command line example;
232 - clarify wording between "porter upload", "binary-only NMU", "simple
233 recompile"; closes: #102626
234 - extended "removing a package"; closes: #135560
235 - Ch "Best Packaging Practices": new chapter, including new
236 Sec "Writing useful descriptions" as a first entry in that
237 chapter; closes: #53109, #129848
238 - indicate that the list of subsections is defined in the policy;
240 - removed some cruft in `Announcing package uploads'
241 - document the testing scripts; closes: #129445
242 - explain how to reassign/close bugs of removed packages;
244 - updates the note about software subject to US patents;
246 - new Section "Contacting other maintainers" under "Beyond packaging"
247 Document the package@packages.debian.org alias; closes: #114553
248 - new Section "Package's information" under Resources
249 Document http://packages.debian.org/<package>,
250 http://bugs.debian.org/<package> and the madison utility
251 - Sec "Reporting bugs": added http://bugs.debian.org/from:email@isp.com
252 - Sec "Handling bugs": added http://bugs.debian.org/login@debian.org
253 - Sec "The Incoming system" in "Resources", describe how it works and
254 also speak of the DELAYED directory; closes: #135562, #136774
256 - Sec "Developer Database": added a sentence about finger
258 - update the total number of packages and the example directory tree
260 - updated the list of available architectures.
261 - commented out the "Subsections" section since it will RSN have nothing
262 to with the Debian archive. It's just a generic information field
263 of the package and nothing more.
264 - added more incentive to use experimental since it doesn't cause
265 any pain to the ftpmasters.
266 - Sec "When to do a source NMU": updated the NMU "protocol" and suggest
267 the use of the delayed queue.
268 - new Section "Acknowledging the NMUs" to explain the need to integrate
269 the changes introduced by NMUs. Insists on the fact that one shouldn't
271 - stubbed in new Section "Collaborative maintenance"
272 - stubbed in new Section "The Package Tracking System"
273 - Sec "The Package Tracking System": filled with content from
274 Francesco Paolo Lovergine, heavily updated by myself
275 - new Section "Managing sponsored packages" contributed by
276 Francesco Paolo Lovergine, slightly updated by myself
277 - new Sec "Bug housekeeping"; closes: #39519
279 - new Sec "Documentation"
280 - added Sec "IRC channels" in the Resources chapter
281 - added Sec "pbuilder" in the appendix. Mention it in the section
282 "Being kind to porter" too
283 - extended Sec "devscripts" with info about "bts" and "uscan"
284 - completed Sec "Helper scripts"
285 - completed Sec "Package with multiple patches",
286 "Multiple binary packages", "Libraries", "Other specific packages",
287 "The wise use of debconf" -- all those are quite simplistic, they
289 - integrated Sec "Handling debconf translations" contributed by
290 Denis Barbier -- thanks, Denis!
293 - update French translation
295 -- Adam Di Carlo <aph@debian.org> Fri, 14 Jun 2002 01:18:19 -0400
297 developers-reference (2.11) unstable; urgency=low
300 - some grammar corrections
301 - update French translation
303 - changes in upload situation, not possible to remove from Incoming
304 anymore; closes: #135559
305 - also talk about dput a tiny bit
307 - Ch "Overview of Debian Maintainer Tools":
309 - Charles Briscoe-Smith deprecates yada (I think new maintainers of
310 that would be welcome)
311 - debconf-doc mentioned for debconf
312 - debhelper: don't talk about debmake; mention how to get info on the dh-* pkgs
313 - dput: new section, closes: #129378
314 - debootstrap: new section, closes: #129377
315 - dpkg-dev-el: new section
316 - other minor wording changes
317 - Sec "Mailing Lists": where to find private archives, closes: #96780
318 - Ch "Package uploads":
319 - new Sec "Adding an entry to debian/changelog"
320 - rename Sec "Announcing new packages" to "New packages"
321 - crypto is in main, non-US is for patent restrictions, so:
322 - excise some text from "Registering as a Debian developer"
323 - changes in Sec "Uploading to ftp-master"
324 - changes in Sec "Uploading to non-US"
325 * old bugs closed out, closes: #110573
327 -- Adam Di Carlo <aph@debian.org> Sun, 7 Apr 2002 23:34:08 -0700
329 developers-reference (2.10.0) unstable; urgency=low
331 * from Martin Michlmayr
332 - update the "Applying to Become a New Maintainer" section, with
333 review by Raphael Hertzog, closes: #133965
334 - bugs closed in NMUs should uses 'closes' changelog entries,
336 - developers are not required to subscribe to debian-private
338 - some suggestions on places to use the proper term, Debian GNU/Linux,
340 - fix some typos, closes: #133956
342 - frozen doesn't exist anymore, just testing; note, however, that
343 there is a way to upload to 'woody-proposed-updates' -- if I can
344 find some description of that, I'll document it; closes: #133948
347 - isolate a few more language-independent bits
349 - change /usr/doc to /usr/share/doc, and typo in debian/copyright,
352 -- Adam Di Carlo <aph@debian.org> Sun, 24 Feb 2002 14:46:46 -0500
354 developers-reference (2.9.0) unstable; urgency=low
357 - created a new subsection about uploading to stable, and elaborated
359 - removed a stray sentence about stable from the paragraph about
360 security uploads (which apply to all distributions equally)
361 - replaced the nonexistent term "Security Manager" with "security officer"
362 - uploading to stable and unstable is deprecated; updated the section
363 about the experimental distribution; other fixes in the section
364 talking about uploading to distributions
365 - better organize some subsections in the section about package uploads
366 - replaced some bogus <ftppath>s with <tt>s
367 - noted how there is an upload queue on pandora, too
369 - French translation updated
371 - normalize '--' as — for prettier output
372 - integrate changes from James Troup, part of #102626
373 - typo fix thanks to Mark Hodge
375 -- Adam Di Carlo <aph@debian.org> Sun, 21 Oct 2001 01:03:01 -0400
377 developers-reference (2.8.8) unstable; urgency=low
380 - a few more strong words about sponsoring
381 - started a new chapter about the relationship between old and new
384 -- Adam Di Carlo <aph@debian.org> Fri, 20 Jul 2001 17:53:47 -0400
386 developers-reference (2.8.7) unstable; urgency=low
389 * fix a typo in a link
390 * dpkg-buildpackage -m<addr> flag was changed for -e<addr> when NMU'ing;
391 update documentation accordingly
393 * Matt Zimmerman fixes up some wording in the section talking about
394 forwarding bugs upstream
396 * provide proper l10n for SGML date entities; now we have &date-<LANG>
397 entities which should be used
398 * debian/rules: fixes for new debiandoc-sgml
399 * debian/control: depend on debiandoc-sgml 1.1.48 or better
401 -- Adam Di Carlo <aph@debian.org> Thu, 21 Jun 2001 14:43:42 -0400
403 developers-reference (2.8.6) unstable; urgency=low
405 * fix a typo, thanks to Antoine Hulin
406 * French version: completely up-to-date now
407 * Makefile: add a 'validate' target
408 * prepare and ship "upstream" ChangeLog; move the debian changelog to
410 * all versions: change the email address to use when orphaning
413 -- Adam Di Carlo <aph@debian.org> Fri, 13 Apr 2001 03:32:08 -0400
415 developers-reference (2.8.5) unstable; urgency=low
417 * expunge references to the Debian Packaging Manual, which is now in the
419 * Japanese version: also comment out some references packaging manual;
420 this translation needs updating
421 * deny request to shut down non-maintainer bug maintenance bug closure
422 practices (closes: Bug#88623)
423 * add some advice about U.S. citizens uploading to non-US
425 * debian/control: Build-Depends should have been Build-Depends-Indep
426 * French version: First complete translation of the Debian developer's
427 reference guide. Much work done by Antoine Hulin. Reviewed by Nicolas
429 * Portuguese version: work is started by Carlos Laviola, nothing
430 included yet, however
432 -- Adam Di Carlo <aph@debian.org> Sun, 8 Apr 2001 01:25:51 -0400
434 developers-reference (2.8.4) unstable; urgency=low
436 * debian/control: remove reference to obsolete packaging-manual package
438 * debian/control: fill in the description a bit more
439 * doc-base: index.html corrected to be index.en.html
441 * Makefile: clean is cleaner
443 -- Adam Di Carlo <aph@debian.org> Sun, 25 Feb 2001 12:47:06 -0500
445 developers-reference (2.8.3) unstable; urgency=low
447 * build and provide French and Japanese versions
448 * devolve build logic from debian/rules to top-level Makefile
449 * developers-reference.jp.sgml: minor changes so it will build (is out
451 * debian/rules: stop making useless /usr/share/developers-reference dir
453 -- Adam Di Carlo <aph@debian.org> Mon, 22 Jan 2001 02:02:02 -0500
455 developers-reference (2.8.2) unstable; urgency=low
458 - fix typographic errors reported by David Martinez (closes: Bug#80740)
459 - common.ent: upped the numbers a little bit, updated lintian reports URL
460 - updated regarding va->klecker move, and www->people move, changed
461 most mentions of dinstall to a generic term "archive maintenance
462 software", removed full path to it because it is in PATH now,
463 mentioned "dak" and "katie" (somewhat vaguely), changed week to
464 month regarding FTP archive waiting time since that\'s more often
465 the case, and changed weeks to hours regarding Maintainers file
466 updates since that\'s also more often the case now, updated some
467 URLs to entities, s/debian-doc/doc-debian/
468 - replaced evil latin1-only quotation marks, replaced mentions of
469 important severity (in RCB context) with serious severity, some
471 - common.ent (1.10): fixed email-debian-user alias; updated
472 sample-dist-dirtree (with more to come)
473 - described testing; described package pools (this particular part
474 required quite a bit of changes, and it might be a bit rough, but
475 it's a start); described the frozen test cycles et al; some other
477 - another update WRT sid/unstable/testing, from Colin Watson
479 * debian/control: add Recommends for debian-policy, packaging-manual
480 * update copyright notice for 2001
481 * fix for WNPP bug filing severities from David Schleef
482 * clarify the status of the Developers's reference as "normative"
483 * add a reference to debconf (closes: Bug#82413)
485 -- Adam Di Carlo <aph@debian.org> Sun, 21 Jan 2001 18:10:21 -0500
487 developers-reference (2.8.1) unstable; urgency=low
489 * update WNPP instructions, based on patch from Marcelo E. Magallon
491 * spelling corrections, awkward grammar suggestions from Andreas Krueger
493 * debian/rules: remove some obsolete source-depends stuff
495 -- Adam Di Carlo <aph@debian.org> Sat, 4 Nov 2000 13:22:21 -0500
497 developers-reference (2.8.0) unstable; urgency=low
499 * Almost all changes for this release are from Josip Rodin
500 <joy@debian.org>. Thanks, Josip!
502 * debian/control, postinst, prerm, rules: Policy 3.2.1 (closes:
503 Bug#68929, Bug#70384)
504 * fixed bug closing example (closes: Bug#71198)
505 * update the perl regexp from current /usr/lib/dpkg/parsechangelog/debian
506 * updated keyring/keyserver information (closes: Bug#67783)
507 * updated new-maintainer stuff (closes: Bug#67841)
508 * updated for master -> ftp-master move (closes: Bug#68369)
509 * noted www.d.o is the right host for web pages, but all other machines
510 could be used if necessary
511 * reorder mentions of scp to come before FTP, as it is more secure;
512 mention the rsync dupload method
513 * reorder mentions of pandora <-> non-us, canonical name non-us is
515 * other small corrections
516 * fixed orphaning/adopting instructions with regard to the new WNPP
517 * common.ent: fix urls for cvs.d.o, wnpp, Debian machines page,
518 lists-archives, www.d.o BTS
519 * common.ent: changed link for machines from devel/maintainer_contacts
521 * Makefile: remove unnecessary subshell
523 * Adam's change: update debian/copyright for new Policy, and put my name
524 in there a bit with updated years; update doc-base file for FHS
526 -- Adam Di Carlo <aph@debian.org> Sun, 15 Oct 2000 03:25:21 -0400
528 developers-reference (2.7.2) frozen unstable; urgency=medium
530 * I believe this should go into frozen because (a) it's only
531 documentation, so it can't introduce RC bugs, and (b) it fixes an
532 error which prevented it from building properly; however, whatever
533 ftpmaster feels is best is fine
535 * include common.ent as well as version.ent
536 (closes: Bug#52582, Bug#48926)
537 * debian/rules: fix build error caused by newer debiandoc-sgml; remove
538 constitution.en.html, since that is now located in the doc-debian
539 package (closes: Bug#54778, Bug#42014); don't compress .pdf file
541 * All changes below from Raphael Hertzog <hertzog@debian.org>
543 * Sec. "Uploading to master" and "Uploading to pandora":
544 explained dinstall -n (closes: Bug#45079)
545 * Sec. "Picking a distribution": added reference to the debian-release
546 team (closes: Bug#52906)
547 * Sec. "Announcing package uploads": rewrote it to take care of the fact
548 that dinstall is doing it automatically (closes: Bug#43877)
549 * Sec. "Mailing lists": added a paragraph about debian-email
551 * Changed the "Maintaining Your Debian Information" into "Debian
552 Developer's Duties" (closes: Bug#28908)
553 - added a section about the LDAP database
554 - added a section about the "on vacation" message
555 - added a section about the coordination with upstream developers
557 - added a section about managing Release Critical bugs
558 - added a section about Quality Assurance effort
560 -- Adam Di Carlo <aph@debian.org> Sun, 16 Apr 2000 23:24:33 -0400
562 developers-reference (2.7.1) unstable; urgency=low
564 * Sec. "Registering as a Debian developer": we are transitioning away
565 from non-free PGP -- remove allusions to non-free software such as
566 PGPv2 or v5 insofar as possible; recommend use of DSS keys rather than
568 * Sec. "Maintaining Your Public Key": remove PGP-centric stuff
569 * Sec. "When bugs are closed by new uploads": describe how to close bugs
570 via a magic changelog entry (closes: Bug#43690)
571 * Sec. "Generating the changes file": refer to Sec. "When bugs are
572 closed by new uploads" for closing bugs via a changelog entry
573 * developers-reference.sgml: re-enable RCS variables in CVS sources
574 * debian/control,rules: dynamically generate the TOC in the package
575 description from developers-reference.sgml
577 -- Adam Di Carlo <aph@debian.org> Sun, 12 Sep 1999 18:15:59 -0400
579 developers-reference (2.7.0) unstable; urgency=low
581 * developers-reference.sgml: separated out language-independant elements
582 into common.ent (not content changes); misc minor grammar changes
584 * doc-base: change section for *constitution* to Debian (not 'debian')
586 * Sec. "Stable, unstable, and sometimes frozen": mention how old stable
587 releases are available at archive.debian.org
588 * Sec. "Uploading to pandora (non-us)" added, remove stale
589 information about the old anonymous ftp area (closes Bug#39541);
590 Sec. "Other Upload Queues" added about that upload queues, added
591 samosa and master.debian.org.jp (closes Bug#37804)
592 * Sec. "Yada": mention that yada might not be as robust as other package
593 producing systems, at request of the author; Sec. "equivs" added
594 * Sec. "Moving packages": at the request of Guy Maor, clarify that this
595 procedure is for moving packages in sections (i.e., free, contrib)
597 * Sec. "Registering as a Debian developer": talk about RSA keys rather
598 than PGP keys, since I think GPG can create/handle them now; mention
599 that the official pkg maintainer address much match an ID on your key;
600 * Sec. "Maintaining Your Public Key": beef up the warnings a bit; point
602 * Sec. "Mailing Lists, Servers, and Other Machines": clean up and
603 clarify section; mention that all developers are expected to be
604 subscribed to debian-private and debian-devel-announce
605 * Sec. "Other Debian Machines": remove list of machines; point to
606 http://www.debian.org/devel/machines instead
607 * Sec. "Release code names": potato is 2.2
608 * Sec. "Guidelines for Porter Uploads": talk about recompile only
609 uploads and version numbers for this (i.e., foo_2.4-1.0.1), from a
610 suggestion from James Troup
611 * Sec. "buildd": mention andrea, and buildd.debian.org
612 * Sec. "Removing packages": correct apt-cache usage
613 * debain/rules: update standards to 3.0.1 -- since I'm not moving
614 /usr/doc to /usr/share/doc yet, no changes were required except in the
617 -- Adam Di Carlo <aph@debian.org> Mon, 16 Aug 1999 23:29:45 -0400
619 developers-reference (2.6.8) unstable; urgency=low
621 * when applying as a new user, the login name can be *eight* characters,
622 not seven (thanks to Rafael Caetano dos Santos)
624 -- Adam Di Carlo <aph@debian.org> Fri, 21 May 1999 21:50:04 -0400
626 developers-reference (2.6.7) unstable; urgency=low
628 * SGML'ish: normalize SGML elements, refill paragraphs (closes Bug#37987)
629 * doc-base: change section to Debian -- hmm, this looks like a doc-base
630 bug, really, but hey, who am I to refile bugs to another one of my own
631 packages? (closes Bug#37392)
632 * Ch. "Overview of Debian Maintainer Tools": new section for yada (um,
633 someone who uses this should check my description), correct build ->
634 debuild in the devscripts section (closes Bug#38053)
636 -- Adam Di Carlo <aph@debian.org> Fri, 21 May 1999 01:41:45 -0400
638 developers-reference (2.6.6) unstable; urgency=low
640 * Sec. "The master server": note that problems on Debian ftp can be sent
641 to ftpmaster@debian.org also
642 * Secs. "Uploads via chiark" and "Uploads via erlangen": remove
643 'cron-driven' (thanks Roman Hodek)
644 * Sec. "Being Kind to Porters": typos corrected, note that binary-arch
645 and binary-indep targets should work independantly (thanks Roman
647 * Sec. "buildd": remove erroneous reference to debbuild, reorganize the
648 section and correct typos (thank again Roman -- boy, this is the all
650 * debian/rules: re-enable letter-sized PDFs
652 -- Adam Di Carlo <aph@debian.org> Sun, 9 May 1999 01:17:29 -0400
654 developers-reference (2.6.5) unstable; urgency=low
656 * Sec. "Architectures": correction on supported architecture in Linux
658 * Sec. "Experimental": other reasons to use or not use the experiment
659 archive "section", from comments by Guy Maor
660 * Sec. "Being Kind to Porters": replace x86 with i386 (closes Bug#36485)
661 * debian/rules: date printing protected from local l10n (closes Bug#36891)
662 * Ch. "Mailing Lists, Servers, and Other Machines": renamed chapter; add
664 * Sec. "Debian Servers": new, for talking about the standard servers,
665 with intro; demoted server sections under that
666 * Sec. "The FTP servers": was empty, removed
667 * Sec. "The master server": fill in more info and cross-refs on how to
669 * Sec. "The CVS server": add some more detail which should be included
670 when requesting cvs areas; mention the cvsweb URL
671 * Sec. "Other Debian Machines": new section, list the machines for which
672 a normal developer may have access.
674 -- Adam Di Carlo <aph@debian.org> Tue, 4 May 1999 03:32:21 -0400
676 developers-reference (2.6.4) unstable; urgency=low
678 * debian/rules: hack 'byhand' file entries to include debian version
679 number in it, so subsequent uploads of the package into Incoming don't
680 step all over each other
682 -- Adam Di Carlo <aph@debian.org> Fri, 9 Apr 1999 20:04:04 -0400
684 developers-reference (2.6.3) unstable; urgency=low
686 * correction from James Troup -- <keyring-maint> is indeed the correct
687 address for PGP key updates
689 -- Adam Di Carlo <aph@debian.org> Sun, 4 Apr 1999 13:28:58 -0400
691 developers-reference (2.6.2) unstable; urgency=low
693 * Sec. "fakeroot": libtricks is not replacing anything after all
694 * developers-reference.sgml: use public declaration
695 * BTW, if any maintainers of translated versions of this document would
696 like to talk to me about folding your version into the
697 developers-reference CVS area, please get in touch with me
699 -- Adam Di Carlo <aph@debian.org> Sun, 4 Apr 1999 04:42:29 -0400
701 developers-reference (2.6.1) unstable; urgency=low
703 * include Debian constitution (closes Bug#30694)
704 * Sec. "fakeroot": libtricks is replacing fakeroot, not libtool
705 * Sec. "Maintaining Your Public Key" -- give email addresses as
706 {pgp,gpg}-update@debian.org, at James Troup's request (note to Jameas,
707 if you see this: /usr/doc/debian-keyring/README.gz talks about
708 <keyring-maint> instead)
709 * Ch. "Overview of Debian Maintainer Tools" -- add Sec. "debget"
710 * developers-reference.sgml: minor typo correction from Tril
712 * doc-base stuff: add abstract to developers-reference, new file for
714 * debian/rules: minor cleanup and consistency; build PDF, not PS file;
715 ship PDF file;.text file now has .txt extension
716 * debian/control: set priority to optional, matching archive
718 -- Adam Di Carlo <aph@debian.org> Sat, 3 Apr 1999 17:17:06 -0500
720 developers-reference (2.6.0) frozen unstable; urgency=low
722 * would be nice to sneak this into slink; it's just documentation!
723 * Ch. "Porting and Being Ported": porter information broken out into it's
724 own chapter, Sec. "Guidelines for Porter Uploads" and "When to do a
725 source NMU if you are a porter" moved to this chapter; porter tool
726 descriptions such as 'quinn-diff' moved to this section. Sec. "Being
727 Kind to Porters" added, with tips for how to avoid making problems for
729 * Ch. "Non-Maintainer Uploads (NMUs)": update for the new chapter, and
730 tighten up the language a bit
731 * Sec. "Monitoring bugs": add a little cron job to get an 'index maint'
732 of outstanding bugs (closes Bug#31259), loosen language a tiny bit
733 w.r.t. non-maintainers or submitters closing bugs (closes Bug#30394)
734 * Sec. "Scope of This Document": point out that this file is not
736 * Ch. "Handling Bugs": renamed from "Handling Bug Reports", incorporate
737 some suggestions from James Troup, namely, don't mail from your root
738 account, don't close bugs via control@bugs.debian.org; break out new
739 sections, "Submitting Bugs" and "Responding to Bugs"
740 * Ch. "Overview of Debian Maintainer Tools": remove attribution for
741 package maintainers, since I can't keep up; add entries for fakeroot
743 * Ch. "Maintaining Your Debian Information": new chapter, quite small
744 right now; it mentions keyring-maint@debian.org for key modification,
745 warns against putting private keys on multi-user machines, and talks
746 about how to depart Debian gracefully
747 * typo correction from Christian Hudon (closes Bug#32052)
748 * menu file removed, obsoleted by doc-base file
749 * parameterize some often-changing values with SGML entities, update
750 number of available packages
751 * use new way of notating multiple copyrights
752 * change <tt> elements to <file> where appropriate
754 -- Adam Di Carlo <aph@debian.org> Thu, 11 Feb 1999 02:53:55 -0500
756 developers-reference (2.5.0.5) unstable; urgency=low
758 * add version.ent to docdir, needed to reconstruct from SGML
761 -- Adam Di Carlo <aph@debian.org> Tue, 29 Dec 1998 02:42:50 -0500
763 developers-reference (2.5.0.4) unstable; urgency=low
765 * not officially released
766 * more spelling corrections
767 * s/ppc/powerpc/ (thanks, James Troup)
769 -- Adam Di Carlo <aph@debian.org> Fri, 18 Dec 1998 00:07:40 -0500
771 developers-reference (2.5.0.3) unstable; urgency=low
773 * not officially released
774 * Sec. "Removing a package from Incoming": tiny section added
775 * some PGP-centricity removed
776 * Sec. "Adopting a package": point out that hijacking packages is not ok
777 * Ch. "Non-Maintainer Uploads (NMUs) and Porters": change 'NMU' to
778 'source NMU', 'port' to 'binary NMU', shorten the window for porters a
779 tad; fix spelling; stress that non-maintainer patches must be
780 non-disruptive and that aesthetic issues are not suitable for fixing
781 by non-maintainers; other fixes as suggested by interested parties
783 -- Adam Di Carlo <aph@debian.org> Wed, 25 Nov 1998 00:01:27 -0500
785 developers-reference (2.5.0.2) frozen unstable; urgency=low
787 * not officially released
788 * maintainer name change (but it's still me)
789 * Ch. "Non-Maintainer Uploads (NMUs) and Porters": new chapter
790 discussing NMUs and porters; Section "Interim Releases" integrated out
791 of existance. New TOC for this section is:
792 * 6 Non-Maintainer Uploads (NMUs) and Porters
793 + 6.1 Who can do a port or an NMU
794 + 6.2 When to do a port or an NMU
795 o 6.2.1 When to do an NMU if you are a porter
796 + 6.3 How to do an NMU
797 o 6.3.1 NMU version numbering
798 o 6.3.2 NMUs must create a changelog entry
799 o 6.3.3 NMUs must send patches, if any, to the BTS
800 o 6.3.4 Building the NMU
801 + 6.4 Guidelines for Porters
803 * Sec. "Maintainer changes": renamed to "Adopting a package" and moved
804 to Chapter "Moving, Removing, Renaming, Adopting, and Orphaning
806 * Sec. "Reporting lots of bugs at once": more forcefully deprecate this
808 * Sec. "Adopting a package": mention that the BTS maintainer update can
809 take a couple of weeks
810 * Sec. "Overview of Debian Maintainer Tools": give credit where credit
811 is due and attribute current maintainers; add `apt'; add `quinn-diff';
812 add mention of as yet unreleased 'buildd' package, since I'm so
813 excited about it and can't wait
814 * Sec. "Removing packages": talk about how apt-cache can be used to look
815 at reverse depends, a good step to take prior to removing a package
817 * show *full* TOC, including sect2
818 * of course the obligatory typo, grammar, and spelling corrections
820 * Makefile: small changes to accomodate DDP autobuild
821 * debian/dirs: obsolete, removed
822 * debian/rules: use changelog date for SGML timestamping, not current date
824 -- Adam Di Carlo <aph@debian.org> Fri, 20 Nov 1998 12:27:53 -0500
826 developers-reference (2.5.0) frozen unstable; urgency=low
828 * move to 3-level version number:
829 top-level version number probably won't change for a while, it is the
830 "major", the second-level number means significant content changes,
831 and the third-level change means corrections and minor improvements.
832 Since this version has significant content changes, we are now 2.5.0.
833 Since I'm going to put porter instructions in the next major rev, that
836 * use new <package> tag where appropriate (Ardo, you rock)
837 * replace 'm86k' with 'm68k'
838 * rename 'Whirlwind Tour of ...' section to 'Overview of ...' (suggested
840 * typos and "red-pen" corrections, fix cosmetic problems in PostScript
842 * remove the one case I use an URL fragment identifier, since
843 debiandoc-sgml doesn't like it (bug filed against debiandoc-sgml)
844 * debian/rules: cosmetic cleanups, loosen check for root
845 * debian/rules: build PostScript version during build, since it's nice
846 to have all my debiandoc2* scripts together
847 * debian/control: policy compliant to 2.5.0
849 * advise against uploading when a package has lintian problems of
851 * "Mailing Lists and Servers":
852 - "The master server": mention how master is the home of the BTS;
853 mention how users need to take care with their accounts on master
854 - "The WWW servers": fill in www.debian.org, first pass, and discuss
855 how to put up your own web pages on va or master
856 - "The CVS server": new section added
857 - "Mirrors of Debian servers": new section added; point to info about
859 * "Applying to Become a Maintainer": do not advise resending initial
860 application; instead, simply mail a followup asking new maintainers
861 whether they go the initial application (closes Bug #28739); mention
862 that calls usually come in the evening; mention that if you use PGP
863 v5, you need to generate an RSA key (right?); clarify our intentions
865 * "Release code names": Debian 2.2 is 'potato'
866 * "Distribution directories": give concrete examples, hopefully making
867 it clearer where to look in Debian archives for specific stuff;
868 mention that old distributions are moved to archive servers (is there
869 a canonical location?)
870 * "The override file": new section, added under "Notification that a new
871 package has been installed"; fill it out quite a bit
872 * "Uploading to *": reiterate thrice not to upload export
873 controlled-software to master, or the European queues on erlangen and
875 * "Picking a distribution": section broken out from "Generating the
877 * "Uploading to frozen": new section, almost straight from Brian White
878 (hope you don't mind!) -- isn't that topical?
879 * "Interim releases": if you NMU a new upstream version (0.1), run
880 'dpkg-buildpackage -sa'
882 -- Adam P. Harris <aph@debian.org> Thu, 12 Nov 1998 00:03:43 -0500
884 developers-reference (2.4.1.5) unstable; urgency=low
886 * Fix instructions for new maintainers, incorporating the actual text
887 sent to prospective new maintainers. Improve this text a bit for
888 readability, coverage, and organization. Significant changes were
889 patched back to the new-maintainers group, if they care to use
890 them. (closes Bug#26948)
891 * Add an introductory "Scope" chapter which helps delineate what should
892 and should not be included in this Reference.
893 * Add a new chapter, "Whirlwind Tour of Debian Maintainer Tools". Let
894 me know what useful tools I forgot -- remember, Debian-specific
895 maintainer tools only!
896 * Add discussion of the "experimental" distribution, culled from an email
897 from Guy Maor on debian-devel.
898 * Incorporated suggestions from Branden Robinson (closes Bug#27211).
899 * Point to doc-debian's mailing list instructions where relevant.
900 * Made references to online documentation into URLs where possible.
901 * Little corrections here and there.
902 * add a Makefile for use in the DDP manual hierarchy
903 * debian/rules: comment out my 'source-depends' hack; it's just slowing
906 -- Adam P. Harris <aph@debian.org> Thu, 1 Oct 1998 03:42:43 -0400
908 developers-reference (2.4.1.4) unstable; urgency=low
910 * fill in Section "The master server" a bit; other servers to follow
911 * in Section "Distribution directories", mention that distributions
912 are always in 'dists' subdir of the Debian archive; talk about
914 * in Section "Release code names", talk about 'sid' a bit
915 * in Section "Interim releases", talk about how non-maintainers should
916 use the BTS, and bug severity "fixed" (closes Bug#17524)
917 * in Section "Generating the changes file", talk about how to set the
918 distribution in the debian/changelog file (i.e., "frozen unstable")
919 * add a new Section "Checking the package prior to upload" to Section
920 "Uploading a package", mentioning lintian and other tests one should
921 do prior to uploading
922 * add new Section "Notification that a new package has been installed"
923 in Section "Uploading a package", talking about dinstall and the
925 * add new Sections "Moving packages", "Removing packages", "Replacing or
926 renaming packages", and "Orphaning a package" (closes Bug#26650)
927 * add new Section "Bugs in your packages", talking about maintainer
928 duties with respect to bugs
929 * add new Section "Lintian reports" under "Handling bugs reports",
930 talking about how maintainers should check their packages with lintian
931 every now and then, alternatively pointing them to the lintian web
933 * clarify, a bit, the use of "section" and "subsection", bringing it
934 into line with the usage in the Policy Manual and Packaging Manual
935 * grammar and markup changes throughout
936 * debian/rules: added a crude source-depends rule, which renders more
937 explicit what is used to build this package
939 -- Adam P. Harris <aph@debian.org> Mon, 21 Sep 1998 00:51:46 -0400
941 developers-reference (2.4.1.3) unstable; urgency=low
944 * version number and date are automatically populated now
945 * changed doc-base section to "debian"
946 * debian/rules: better abstraction and organization
947 * reformat SGML like I happen to like it
948 * utilize the new URL tag
949 * build PostScript on letter size, I hear thats better for A4 and US
952 -- Adam P. Harris <aph@debian.org> Thu, 16 Jul 1998 00:52:35 -0400
954 developers-reference (2.4.1.2) frozen unstable; urgency=low
956 * non-maintainer release
957 * rebuilt since HTML versions of Chapters 1 and 2 were truncated
958 (important bug, no number yet, bugs.debian.org isn't working;
959 regardless, this should go in hamm because a broken developers
960 reference won't win us many friends in hamm, and after all, it's just
961 text, it can't hurt you.)
962 * no content changes, except that the version number in the SGML file
963 reflect this packages version number
964 * debian/rule: clean is cleaner now
966 -- Adam P. Harris <aph@debian.org> Tue, 16 Jun 1998 01:35:39 -0400
968 developers-reference (2.4.1.1) frozen unstable; urgency=low
972 -- Christian Schwarz <schwarz@debian.org> Thu, 14 May 1998 21:56:36 +0200
974 developers-reference (2.4.1.0) frozen unstable; urgency=low
976 * New version numbering scheme:
978 - The version numbers are independent of dpkg now, but all policy
979 manuals (the Debian Policy Manual, the Debian Packaging Manual, and
980 the Debian Developer's Reference) share the same version numbering
983 - The first three digits of the version number specify the
984 `Standards-Version.' This number is incremented with each policy
985 change. The fourth digit represents the `patch-level,' which may
986 differ between the manuals.
988 If only the patch-level digit is incremented, no changes in policy
989 have been made, except bug fixes and clarifications. Packages only
990 have to specify the first three digits of the version number in the
991 `Standards-Version' field of their source packages.
993 * Uploaded to frozen and unstable. This is a documentation-only
994 package and the changes to the manual are relevant for hamm.
996 * No changes to the Developer's Reference
998 -- Christian Schwarz <schwarz@debian.org> Mon, 13 Apr 1998 17:54:43 +0200
1000 developers-reference (0.5) unstable; urgency=low
1002 * Changes to the Developer's Reference:
1004 - Changed section 1.2 Registering as a Debian developer:
1005 + signatures from formal certification service are _NOT_ accepted
1007 + images of ID documents have to be PGP or RSA signed
1008 (as requested by James Troup)
1010 - Use current date instead of <date> in manual
1012 * Updated FSF's address (reported by Lintian)
1014 -- Christian Schwarz <schwarz@debian.org> Sat, 7 Mar 1998 13:52:15 +0100
1016 developers-reference (0.4) unstable; urgency=low
1018 * Changes to the Developer's Reference:
1020 - Renamed chapter 4 into `Package uploads'
1022 - New section 4.2.5 Uploading to the non-us server
1024 - Changed section 4.4 Interim releases:
1025 + non-maintainer releases should not close bugs
1026 + normal maintainer must at least read the patch provided with
1027 the non-maintainer release
1029 - New chapter 5 Handling bug reports:
1030 + when reporting more then 10 bugs on the same topic, a message
1031 has to be sent to debian-devel and the `maintonly' address
1034 - Lots of typos fixed
1036 * Compressed SGML source code
1038 * Added support for doc-base to register the Developer's Reference
1039 to the online documentation systems dwww and dhelp
1041 * Upgraded to standards version 2.4.0.0 (no changes)
1043 -- Christian Schwarz <schwarz@debian.org> Fri, 30 Jan 1998 21:58:34 +0100
1045 developers-reference (0.3) unstable; urgency=low
1047 * Put lost sections from Policy Manual 2.1.3.3 back in:
1048 - Generating the changes file (for uploads)
1049 - Announcing package uploads
1050 * New section about Debian Mentors
1051 * debian/rules: Don't use debstd anymore
1052 * debian/rules: Compress changelog file (fixes:#15441)
1053 * Fixed link to WNPP list (fixes:#16201)
1054 * Added menu entry (fixes:#15708)
1056 -- Christian Schwarz <schwarz@debian.org> Wed, 24 Dec 1997 13:54:33 +0100
1058 developers-reference (0.2) unstable; urgency=low
1060 * New chapter about `The Debian Archive' describing the structure
1061 of our FTP server and the development process
1062 * Added note that new maintainers have to read the Social Contract
1063 and have to know where to find the Policy and Packaging Manuals
1064 * PGP key ring is not distributed via dpkg but in doc/ of the FTP
1066 * Added note that cross posting between Debian lists is depreciated
1067 * New list of advantages why new packages should be discussed on
1068 debian-devel before they are uploaded
1069 * Added section about how packages are uploaded
1070 * Added note that the Security Managers may do interim releases without
1071 contacting the maintainer
1072 * Removed chapter about bug tracking system (will be included in
1073 a new manual released soon)
1074 * Some minor changes
1075 * Include SGML source in package
1076 * Don't use `2-up' style for PostScript version
1077 * Upgraded to Standards 2.3.0.1
1079 -- Christian Schwarz <schwarz@debian.org> Sun, 2 Nov 1997 20:53:26 +0100
1081 developers-reference (0.1) unstable; urgency=low
1085 -- Christian Schwarz <schwarz@debian.org> Tue, 8 Jul 1997 00:19:49 +0200